Questions for Polk County

As a follow up to a phone conversation I had with Michael Herr, the Polk County Manager, this morning just before 9:00 AM, I emailed him a list of questions we have complied regarding what happens if Polk City dissolves.  Michael did his best to answer many of my early questions, which some are also posted here, during our phone conversation, but some require a little more looking into.  Some are questions we had ourselves, but many of these were great questions we received from the public.  Thank you for helping us get some answers to your concerns.

Below is a copy of the email I sent.  I know it may take a while for Mr. Herr to research some of these questions with his legal staff, but hopefully we can provide you these answers in a timely manner.  If you, the public, can think of anything we missed, please post it as a comment here or email us at HelpPolkCityResidents@earthlink.net and we can send additional questions to him.

Lisa B. Shifflett                                                                                                  September 14, 2010

Polk City, FL 33868

RE:      Questions Regarding Dissolution of Polk City’s Charter

Dear, Mr. Michael Herr,

As a member of the Concerned Citizens of Polk City, our group has been trying to find out the facts regarding the real possibility of Polk City’s municipality dissolving.  Some of these questions we have been able to find answers on, but others are a bit more complicated.  We have gathered the following questions so far to try to get answers for ourselves and the public.  I know you have answered some of these questions for me over the phone in a previous conversation, but I would like to have them formally answered for all so see.  We plan to post these questions and answers from you and your legal advisors on our blog, www.ConcernedCitizensOfPolkCity.blogspot.com to hopefully bring some clarity to the issues that affect so many in our area.  In the short time we have begun to research this, we have gained a very large following on our blog.  Starting on the last week of August we have over 2,000 hits to date and average 100-200 hits per day.  We also forward this information to a large email list we have started for those individuals who prefer to get this information in their email.  Our petition drive this past weekend to get a referendum on an upcoming ballot regarding the dissolution of Polk City’s charter appears to have been very successful, looking at preliminary numbers.  We will be submitting these signatures to the Elections office shortly for verification.

Our goal is to keep our friends, neighbors, and fellow Polk City residents informed and educate them on the facts we have been able to find on this issue.  We do not feel that the City Officials have investigated this option fully, so we are trying to do this work for them. 

Please feel free to contact me at the information I provided you on my email, if you need further clarification on any of the following questions.  If you feel there is additional information we also need to let the public be aware of that we have not brought up already, please feel free to add it to this list.  We thank you in advance for your assistance.

Sincerely,

Lisa B. Shifflett

Concerned Citizens Of Polk City

If The City of Polk City Dissolves under state statute 165.051….

·         Who will handle the basic governmental functions such as general government, public works, permits, culture/recreation, transportation, public safety, etc.?

·         If Polk County does end up taking Polk City back into unincorporated Polk County, will Polk County taxes be increasing to help cover the extra expenses in addition to the special assessment that we understand will be levied on the current Polk City property owners for the remaining Polk City debt once assets are liquidated?  If so, approximately how much and when might these county taxes change?

·         Are there additional fees the County can charge the property owners of Polk City for the process of dissolving the city and the transitioning process?  If there are, are these fees going to be included in the special assessment tax?

·         We understand that a separate taxing district within Polk County will be formed to have the current Polk City property owners receive a special tax assessment to pay off the remaining city debt after the city is liquidated.  Will this be one flat assessment amount for each property owner or will the amount of the assessments be varying based on the assessed value of the property?

·         When liquidating Polk City assets, how is each asset value determined and who determines this value to make sure Polk City property owners get a fair price for these assets during the liquidation process?  Which entities will be involved in this negotiation process?

·         Particular assets originally purchased by the city, from the county, have remaining balances on those loans and in some cases are even delinquent.  Since these assets are being returned to the county, what happens to the remaining debt on those assets?

·         Will Polk County be bound to any existing Polk City contracts with sub-contractors in regards to outsourcing, etc. if the City dissolves?  Does the contract become null and void since one of the contract parties no longer exists, or will the obligations of the contract just be transferred to the County?

·         Who will take over the function of the Polk City Police Department?

·         Will there be any change in Fire Protection Services?

·         Will the Polk City Post Office, and zip code 33868, remain due to its location so far away from other post offices?

·         In regards to the Polk City Library, a resident stated that according to the librarian here it is a county co-op.  Each library is based and mostly funded by the city they are in.  We get a minimum amount of co-op funding $25,000, but costs run around $100,000 annually.  The current agreement is with the city.  How will our library be funded and it’s services be affected? 

·         If the city goes away, due to the library’s location so far away from other libraries in the area, will the residents of Polk City have any say as to if the library stays or goes.  If the distance away from other libraries does not play into the decision process, and plans would be to close this location, can needed funding be calculated into the special assessment tax to keep the library open?

·         We understand the garbage/recycling services for both Polk County and Polk City are both handled by the same company, Florida Refuse.  How will those services/costs change for the current city residents?

·         Will current Polk City residents/property owners get charged additional fees to bring current road conditions up to county standards?

·         Obviously, there will be a transition period with the water and sewer systems if the county takes over control of them.  Will current sewer and water customers of Polk City Utilities transition over to current Polk County Utility rates immediately or will there be a delay until some of the transition details are worked out?

·         With the Auburndale spray field being located just down Berkley Road, is it a more cost effective possibility Polk City Utility sewer customers can link into the existing Auburndale sewer facilities?  This way the overhead expenses of running the Mt. Olive sewer treatment plant, as well as the Cardinal Hill treatment plant, can be eliminated.

·         Polk City is currently leasing the property that the Cardinal Hill sewer treatment plant is sitting on.  From our understanding, no payments have been made on this lease to date.  Rather, a special deal regarding future environmental impact fees was made with the land owner in regards to future development on this land.  How will payment on this deal be handled?

·         Will current Polk City Utility customers get charged additional fees incurred due to the transition process of the sewer and water systems?  If so, will this expense be included as part of the special assessment tax on the property owners or will this expense be passed on to the account holders on their water/sewer bills?

·         If the current Polk City debt is being absorbed in the liquidation process, will the county continue the current push the city has pursued to force property owners on properly functioning septic systems to move to sewer in the immediate future?

·         Currently, some of the Polk City Utility water meters are older and cannot be read using a scanner.  These meters in the past have either been read manually, incorrectly, or the usages have been estimated due to lack of man power to check them all manually.  Some of these meters have already been upgraded to the newer meters than can be electronically scanned.  Will customers be charged a fee if these old meters need replacement?

·         Will current Polk City residents/property owners get charged additional fees to bring current water / sewer conditions up to county standards?

·         The Fountain Park subdivision located at Mt. Olive Road and State Road 33, currently has their street lighting paid for by the city as part of a deal with the developer.  Most of this partially developed subdivision is nothing but streets without houses, but the street lights are on throughout the subdivision.  How will that contract between the city and the developer be affected?

·         Who is responsible for paying the street lighting in the city?  Does it vary based on who owns the roads?  If they are county/state/or city streets?